DENVER – Oct. 25, 2014 – Rise Above Colorado, a statewide drug prevention organization, and Colorado 9to25, a network of youth-focused organizations aiming to improve prevention, intervention and treatment systems to achieve positive outcomes for all Colorado youth, are hosting the 2014 Colorado Youth Summit in Denver, Colorado. With confidence building being the central theme of the summit, the event is geared toward youth ages 13-19 and adults that work with youth. The main goal of the summit is to foster skills and youth-adult partnerships that help young people reach their full potential and foster greater awareness and enthusiasm for collaborating on shared interests.
This year’s Colorado Youth Summit takes place Saturday, October 25 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at North High School, 2960 North Speer Boulevard, Denver, CO. The summit participants will be in small groups for a majority of the day and will engage in activities using the arts to develop and foster confidence skills. Summit activities will energize attendees and contribute to a positive youth development movement with:
“Effective youth-adult partnerships are fundamental to youth development and this summit provides a platform for youth and adults to work together and engage in activities that harness young people’s innate strengths and talents as leaders, innovators and connectors,” said Jonathan Judge, program director for Rise Above Colorado. “The uniqueness of this event is one reason our organization is kicking off our #IRiseAbove initiative at the summit, as we believe these young people will take what they learn from the summit activities and be vital participants in the #IRiseAbove campaign movement in their communities.”
“The Summit is an amazing opportunity to learn about how to gain and use confidence in our everyday life,” said Apoorva Gundu, a student at Peak to Peak Charter School and a member of the Summit Planning Leadership Team and the Rise Above Colorado Teen Action Council.
Colorado 9to25’s focus on taking collaborative action to ensure that all young people ages 9-25 are safe, healthy, educated, connected and contributing has gathered support from many youth serving organizations who realize the importance of aligning efforts to achieve positive outcomes for Colorado youth. The convening Colorado 9to25 partners who collaborated to put on the Colorado Youth Summit include:
“Through youth and adults coming together to design and plan the day, the Summit is a wonderful opportunity to meet others and grow as individuals and as a community,” commented Amy Coy from the Summit Planning Leadership Team representing Shiloh House.
This year’s summit also has local business sponsors that believe in the Colorado 9to25’s mission. These companies include:
For more information about the Colorado Youth Summit, visit http://co9to25.org. For more information about Rise Above Colorado, visit http://www.riseaboveco.org/
About Rise Above Colorado
Rise Above Colorado is a drug abuse prevention organization providing Colorado’s teens with information, resources and healthy lifestyle alternatives to help them choose a life free of drug abuse. The Rise Above team proactively collaborates with teens, educators, community leaders and partners to provide science-based, compelling drug prevention lessons, face-to-face outreach and uniquely tailored community prevention efforts across Colorado that impact perceptions and attitudes about drug abuse. Rise Above Colorado is affiliated with The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, a national nonprofit organization working to help families solve the problem of teen substance abuse. For more information, visit http://www.riseaboveco.org.
# # #
Media Contacts:
Carolann Samuels
GroundFloor Media
(303) 775-9282
csamuels@groundfloormedia.com
Kent MacLennan
Rise Above Colorado
(720) 425-4200
kent@riseabovecolorado.org